Nats Journal

Wood's task: Do for six months what he did for three

Encouraged by a dominant first half, troubled by a dismal second half, James Wood now seeks season-long consistency

Mark Zuckerman's avatar
Mark Zuckerman
Feb 16, 2026
∙ Paid
Photo by Saúl Martinez / NATS JOURNAL

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Blake Butera, as you might imagine, was eager to connect with James Wood after getting hired in October and find out what the Nationals’ brightest young star was really like.

The rookie manager quickly discovered the 23-year-old is more driven to succeed than his laid-back persona suggests from…

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